42 Rules

Midwest Book Review offers resources that will prove helpful to self-published authors, regional presses, specialty publishers, academic houses, and the small press publishing community.

Digiday has a great article covering interviews with publishers.  They asked each publisher what they would do if they got a “do over”.  It’s interesting to see that most of them say they would have paid more attention to and invested in digital technology.  Not surprising given that hindsight is 20/20.  You can read the entire article at Digiday.

These days readers consume books in various formats.  Some prefer paperbacks, others won’t touch anything that isn’t on their Kindle and others like to read books in PDF on their computer.  When you set up your sales page for your book make sure you tell your readers how and where they can buy the book in any format you offer.  For example, put a buy link for physical copies and link to the Kindle and Nook.  Make it easy for your readers to buy your books no matter how they intend to read them.

Author Marketing Experts has a very interesting newsletter that covers topics for writers and publishers.  They do a good job in collating content from around the web that you might find interesting.  Take a look at a recent newsletter here.

Has publishing a book been on your To-Do list for far too long? Then make 2013 the year it gets done! This webinar explains the strategy and process of taking your book idea from being just a glimmer in your eye to a real-live book on Amazon.com.

Attendees will learn:
* How to make your book work for you before it’s even written
* Publishing strategies that get your book to market fast
* How to make your book title drive website traffic and sales
* The 5-steps to writing a great book…really fast!

About your presenter: The 42Rules book series was started by long-time marketing executive, author and founder of Impact Marketing Group, Laura Lowell. Laura wanted to help experts write books and share their wisdom, while maintaining their current workload and lifestyle. Today, the 42Rules series outperforms industry standards for sales of independently published trade paperback book.

Join Laura Lowell on February 20, 2013 at 10:00 am PST.  Register here!

So many publishers were worried about the e-book revolution and piracy concerns that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees.  Now that the dust has somewhat settled publishers have learned that e-books have opened doors for them that they previously thought closed.  Zoe Chace writes on NPR that publishers are now using e-books to get new readers and other benefits.  We don’t want to say “We told you so” but…  Read the entire article here.

According to the ISBN Agency Bowker:

300,000 books were published in the U.S. 2003.

411,422 books were published in the U.S. in 2007.

1,052,803 books were published in the U.S. 2009.

Approximately 3,000,000 books were published in the U.S. in 2011.

Author Seth Godin said Bowker estimates that they will issue 15,000,000 ISBN numbers in 2012.

If more than 15 million books are going to be published this year then at least one of them should be yours!  Join me, Laura Lowell, on the free webinar “Publish Your Book in 2013: The New Rules of Publishing Make it Easy!” on February 20, 2013.  Learn more here!

Marcia Yudkin has written another good article about book promotion.  Although she is talking about promoting Kindle books her advice can work for print books as well.  You can read the entire article on the Warrior Forum.

Has publishing a book been on your To-Do list for far too long? Then make 2013 the year it gets done! This webinar explains the strategy and process of taking your book idea from being just a glimmer in your eye to a real-live book on Amazon.com.

Attendees will learn:
* How to make your book work for you before it’s even written
* Publishing strategies that get your book to market fast
* How to make your book title drive website traffic and sales
* The 5-steps to writing a great book…really fast!

Date and Time

The Book Deal blog has a great post about how to time your book’s launch.  Apparently agents and publishers love books that can be tied into annual events and anniversaries.  It doesn’t take a genius to guess that Christmas is a huge book publishing tie in but there are other lesser known events that writer’s need to know about.  Read the post and make note of the bonus “Tie-ins by the month” at the end.  Do you have an idea for a book that ties in with an annual event?  Use the comment function and let us know!

They both wish to redefine the publishing industry according to David Streitfeld.  Streitfeld writes about the collaboration between Amazon.com and Tim Ferris in the New York Times Bit column.  Amazon.com is the publisher of the latest Ferris 4 Hour books “The 4-Hour Chef”.  According to the article bookstores aren’t carrying the book because they don’t want to help Amazon.com continue to conquer the world.  Read the article and tell us what you think!

Publishing giants Pearson and Bertelsmann have announced they are creating a joint venture to pool their respective consumer publishing businesses, Penguin and Random House, in a bid to go the distance in the digital age. Penguin and Random House will combine to form a JV named Penguin Random House.  They obviously intend to go head to head with Amazon.com Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook.  Do these two companies have anything to worry about?  Let us know what you think!

Google and several publishers (McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, Pearson Education Inc and its sister Penguin Group USA, John Wiley & Sons and CBS Corp’s Simon & Schuster) have agreed to a settlement of the lawsuit accusing Google of violating copyrights by copying books digitally without author permission.  To learn more about the settlement read this article!

The early-bird entry deadline for the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2013 is October 13, 2012.  The 17th Annual Independent Publisher Book Awards (aka The IPPYs) have become the industry’s most competitive and prestigious awards for independently published books. The final deadline for 2013 entries is March 16, 2013, with two early-bird entry fee deadlines along the way. For submission details and entry requirements, click on http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipland/IPAwards.php

HarperCollins is the first of three publishers who has negotiated new, lower prices for e-books for Amazon and other e-retailers.  A federal judge approved a settlement in early September between three big publishers and e-retailers.  The NY Times Media Decoder blog has an article with all the details.  You can read about the settlement itself here.  What does this mean for authors?  It means that they will make less per e-book sold but they may very well sell a great deal more now that prices are more affordable.  More books being read is always a good thing!

Thanks to Kindle and other e-readers Indie writers are finally getting the attention they deserve.  Hot off the presses the “50 Shades of Grey” self published Kindle bestseller  trilogy is now in paperback at your local Target and Walmart and the movie rights have already been sold.  The blog “Self-Publishing Success Stories” has compiled a list of more than 170 authors who have sold more than 50,000 self-published ebooks to date.  These sales figures are meant to inspire other authors but the real message is that traditional publishing houses have become dinosaurs.  Unable or unwilling to change with the times they are being left behind while self published authors sell more than many best sellers back in the day.  To see who is selling what and how many visit Self-Publishing Success Stories.

Relationships are central to teaching and learning. Establishing a real relationship with every student, their parents, your colleagues and supervisor is the foundation for a successful learning partnership that will make teaching a joy.

Do you remember a teacher who connected with you as an individual? Maybe they took the time to listen, fi nd out about your interests and give you opportunities to incorporate your passions into your learning. I bet those teachers were your favorite people and that because of it you worked harder to succeed in school.

To establish yourself as an important learning leader to your students take the time to get to know them. Since you’re the adult be a “roll” model and get the ball rolling by sending out introductory letters or postcards to students before the year begins. Tell them who you are, what your interests are and how exciting it is that you will be working together. Gear your communications appropriately for your grade level. Do a quick welcome to school postcard for Kindergarten, adding information as you move up in grades and even moving to cards or a letter for upper grades. Be prepared to get mail back and when you do, answer it!

Writing back and forth is a great way to have a private dialogue that lets students know they are valued. This can be carried on throughout the year in different forms such as continued correspondence, e-mail, student learning reflections and teacher validation or two-way journals.

Although you may feel like you have a lot of students remember each of them is the most important person in your classroom to their parents. As you are getting to know students and their parents make sure you are sharing who you are with them. Be visible and available before and after school and use every opportunity to share your commitment and vision for learning. Unless you are in a job share situation, each of your students only has one teacher and they want to know who you are, what you stand for and what to expect from you. If you start out letting everyone get to know you, you can’t fail to succeed with students and get their parents to support you.

I experienced a master at work one year when I went to my son Chase’s Back to School Night. The teacher, Anita Sanchez met each parent at the door with a gracious handshake and welcome. Her beautiful classroom was set up for each of us to sign in and fi nd our child’s desk which had the 1st grade standards, class policies and procedures and a note from each child on it.

Mrs. Sanchez got up in front of the class, smiled at everyone and began a power point presentation by saying:

“I’d like to share the twenty reasons I love getting up and coming in to teach each day.”

The slides showing every child in the class experiencing their fi rst week of fi rst grade made every parent sigh and fall in love with Mrs. Sanchez. With one graceful action she conveyed how she felt about our kids, shared what their activities and learning looked like in action and she showed us that she valued each and every one of them.

As you’re connecting with students and parents make sure you also spend quality time with your teaching partners and talk with your supervisor regularly. Ask for feedback and be prepared to actually listen to it and use it. Offer your opinion when asked and practice diplomacy.

It’s easy to get super involved in your classroom and forget that you are part of a larger learning community. Tend to each part of your learning community by making sure you know and understand your students, parents, colleagues and supervisor. Your work to create relationships will result in positive relationships that sustain and enrich you and your teaching.

© 2009, Susan Guerrero.

Susan Guerrero is passionate about teaching and learning. A K-12 teacher, specialist, staff developer, university instructor, principal, and education al ambassador, Susan is an advocate for parents, students, and teachers. She is the Executive Director of The Heart of Learning Foundation and lives in Pleasanton, California with her son and daughter.

Patricia Fry offers a frequently updated blog about publishing and writing that is a great resource for writers of all genres.  You’ll find lots of great tips on how to sell more books. Take a look and let us know what you think!

Nick Morgan contributor to Forbes has written an article about the not so fun roller coaster that is the world of publishing.  You can read the entire article here.

Amazon.com editors have picked the top 20 best books for 2012 (through June). You can read the list at Amazon.com.  It’s interesting to note that the top ten books on the list are from traditional publishers.  Amazon is also holding a sweepstakes:   “Customers can also enter the Best Books of the Year So Far Sweepstakes on the Amazon.com Books Facebook page through July 23 for a chance to win one of 10 Kindle Fire devices, each accompanied by a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card. There is no purchase necessary to enter. Must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C., 18 or over. Learn more [here] and enter for a chance to win.”